When relating the respondents’ criteria for efficient contractor-supplier relationships to
the literature review, it is evident that some discrepancies are found. Even though the
respondents primarily point towards the activities in the relationship as the most
essential, there is an underlying emphasis on the enablers in the relationship, the input
criteria. Quality for instance is elucidated by the respondent as the primary criterion
for suppliers to live up to regardless the supplier material or services. This criterion
was, however, most of the times followed by an explanation by the respondent
including both effective communication and long-term orientation. Both of which are
argued to be prerequisites for efficient buyer-supplier relationships (Monczka et al.,
1998). Additionally, when the respondents discuss development work they state that
contractors are advised to work together with the supplier and share information
Efficient contractor supplier relations 389 instead of keeping it to themselves, which is vital in the process of ensuring high
quality (Krause, 1999). Furthermore, when the respondents point out loyalty to
framework agreement there is an emphasis on that this need for loyalty is founded in a
promise to the supplier, which might be referred to as a prerequisite for trust (Monczka
et al., 1998). Likewise, the criterion on service to users is based on a need for higher
interaction frequency and effective communication, also facilitating efficient
buyer-supplier relationships (Ryu et al., 2007).